Psalms 47:1

The Bible says in Psalms 47:1-2, “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. [2] For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.” This Psalm is a Psalm of triumphant and victory: a Psalm of praising God for who He is. Do not look at yourself because you have weaknesses and inabilities and failures. Do not look at other people either. Most of them are evil unbelievers. And the believers are probably weaker than you are, and they probably do not know the Bible, do not walk close to Christ, and are not sold out to the Lord. But look to the Lord and think about who God is, and you have reason to rejoice over and over. If you do this, you can have “the voice of triumph.” What kind of a voice do some Christians have: the voice of doubt, the voice of complaining, the voice of worldliness? The best voice to have is “the voice of triumph.” Are you an overcomer? Are you living in victory? The words that come out of your mouth will define you. If you want to be victorious, think about who God is and what He is doing, and talk about it.

Two things about God are stated in verse two: He “is terrible,” and “he is a great King over all the earth.” The word that is translated “terrible” is the basic Hebrew word for “fear.” God should be feared because He is Judge. God should be feared because He is holy and we are sinful. God should be feared because He can do anything, and that means that He can destroy anything and anyone and any nation. Every destruction that has ever happened on the earth, and there have been some big ones, were either caused by God or allowed by God. This God is our God and He is on our side, and we are on His side. If you fear God, then there is nothing to fear. If you fear God, then you should have “the voice of triumph.”

The end of verse two says that God “is a great King over all the earth.” Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. In other words there is a hierarchy that rules this world, and God is at the top. Every leader of every country reports to God whether they know it or not. God has raised up the leaders and given them opportunity and responsibility. Of course, the day of reckoning is coming. The main thing that we can do in regards to all of our human leaders whether nationally or locally is to pray for them and to follow their leadership. But never forget that God is in charge. He has put them in power and He can take them out of power. God can also touch their hearts and change their minds without them even knowing it. He is the “terrible” God and “he is a great King over all the earth.” Therefore, shout praises to Him with “the voice of triumph.”

The Bible says in Psalms 47:3-4, “He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.[4] He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.” If you are a believer in Jesus, and you look to the future, what do you see? If you know the Bible and you look far enough into the future (or maybe not so far), you will see God subduing the people “under us.” This battle for power and control that the unbelievers think is so important: guess what: they are going to lose. Just like Jesus said, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” And of course, we will have a great inheritance from the One who owns everything. Just think of the children of God and the similarities to the children of a multi-billionaire. They know that all of their needs are provided for and that the day is coming that they will inherit this great wealth. And so they can see a bright future of opportunity and blessing. Why does the Lord have such a wonderful future prepared for us? Because we are in the same spiritual condition that Jacob was in and it says “Jacob whom he loved.” God loves His children. God is not going to let the unbelievers win.

The Bible says in Psalm 47:5, “God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.” This verse is about war and someone who charges the enemy in a battle. In an ancient battle, you had the blaring of a trumpet and the shouting of the warriors. Their purpose is to attack and to conquer the enemy, and so they are running out with everything they have. That is what the Almighty God will do for His believers. The Battle of Armageddon will be just like that, and that is why the armies of the world will be totally wiped out, and a new age will be ushered in with Jesus as King in Jerusalem and all the believers ruling the earth with Christ.

The Bible says in Psalm 47:6-9, “Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.[7] For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.[8] God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.[9] The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.” Four times in verse six we are told to “Sing praises to God.” Verse seven tells us why to sing praises: “God is the King of all the earth.” And then verse seven tells us, “sing ye praises with understanding.” If we know and believe what we should about Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ, then praising Him will come automatically. There are a lot of people who argue constantly about politics who would do well to look at this Psalm. Too many people are worried about the outcome of the latest controversy or the next election. They should remember that God is “King of all the earth” and “God sitteth upon the throne.”

Verse nine mentions “the people of the God of Abraham.” God made a promise to Abraham that God would make a great nation from Abraham’s descendants. This is true both physically and spiritually. Israel is the nation for which God has a plan for greatness because of the promise to Abraham. Believers in Jesus will make up the Kingdom of God forever because of the promise made to Abraham. The future is bright because God has a plan that will be fulfilled. Abraham became a part of that plan because Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. We become just like Abraham as a recipient of God’s promise when we put our faith and trust in Jesus.

There is one last reminder at the end of verse nine about what God will do for us: “for the shields of the earth belong unto God.” What is a shield? A shield is what is used to protect a soldier in battle. There are a lot of battles that we must fight in life, especially spiritual battles. How will we be protected from the spiritual forces of darkness: God controls all of the shields. God has an infinite number of ways to shield His children. God can turn the tables and ruin the plans of the wicked. God can change hearts. God has the power of life and death. God can bring desolations to the earth or God can bring peace. God can do all the things that man cannot do, and God can change the outcome. At the end when we fully see all that God was doing in the earth, we will exalt Jesus and so will everyone else. Right now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face.

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